Muscat, Oman- The Dutch Islamophobe right-winger Geert Wilders launched his electoral bid this week to lead Holland by denouncing “Moroccan scum” whom he claimed “make the streets unsafe”. On the first day of canvassing ahead of elections in mid-March, the mental and verbal diarrhea patient Wilders appeared in a market square in the small Dutch town of Spijkenisse, fooling the voters with a call to “make the Netherlands ours again”. He posed for selfies and accepted bouquets from a small band of perverted hardcore supporters.

Geert Wilders ranted about the “Islamisation” of Holland and incited his countrymen to “regain your country”. His hate campaign is very similar to Indian Islamophobic Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi, while campaigning for the local Parliament (Legislative Assembly) elections in Uttar Pradesh — the northern Indian state on Sunday, incited the crowd gathered at the rally to hear him. Modi demanded crematoriums for Hindus and availability of electricity during Hindu festivals. He claimed that only Muslims are getting all the facilities and Hindus are discriminated. The opposition Congress party castigated the communal lies of Narendra Modi. From public platforms, his party colleagues have asked the Hindu youth to ‘rape even the dead Muslim women’! As usual, there is no action from the biased authorities.

Geert Wilders also makes hate speeches like Narendra Modi and tries to put the Christian majority community against the minority Muslims especially the Moroccans. Wilders’s plans to close all mosques, shut down the asylum system and ban headscarves at public functions. He is gaining support of white working-class voters whom the party dubs “Henk and Ingrid”. He has also dramatically appealed to voters who feel they have not shared in the benefits of the economic recovery by pledging more generous welfare payments and to stage a “Nexit” from the European Union.

Wilders was convicted in December 2016 for his anti-Moroccan comments. He has not learned any lessons yet. He called Spijkenisse his party’s spiritual “hometown”. He claimed unemployment is higher than the national average and lengthy queues form in snack bars on payday. It may be recalled that The Party for Freedom won local elections here in 2015. It took to the town’s streets last year for a stunt handing out “anti-refugee resistance spray”.

Despite such endorsement by mavericks, there is little realistic prospect that Wilders will become the Dutch prime minister. Wilders’ party is only expected to win up to 27 seats in parliament, far short of the 76 needed to form a government. Other parties have categorically and emphatically refused to form a coalition with Wilders. It could lead to the prospect that the leader of the largest party in parliament could be prevented from running the country for the first time since 1977. Political analysts expect Wilders to remain in opposition while a coalition of four or more of the 28 parties on the ballot forms a government.

There is a wave of Islamophobes from Donald Trump to Narendra Modi to Geert Wilders. The only answer is to defeat them politically. Democracy is the only way to lead our lives in a pluralistic society. Politics is the last resort of these dangerous right-wing scoundrels who are dead against a civilized society and a peaceful world order.

Dr Ahmed Mohiuddin Siddiqui is an international columnist, political analyst and senior journalist. His articles are published across Asia, Africa and Europe. He writes for The Moroccan Times, The Tunis Times, India Tomorrow, Kohram News, The Etemaad Urdu Daily and for news papers published from Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.